5 Basic SEO Strategies for Better Results

Search engine optimization is constantly changing. It’s a challenge to keep up with Google and making sure your website or blog is ranking well. How do sites get better SEO results? There are key elements.

Each year, changes to Google algorithms can impact that first page ranking of your website. It’s happened to all of us. Even with the frequent changes, it is possible to run a successful website and keep a constant high position on Google.

It comes down to focusing on your customers. Creating a user-friendly site design. And most of all, choosing keywords that make sense.

1. Keyword Research

Do you know what keywords and key phrases your site currently ranks for? Do you know where you rank for your chosen keywords and key phrases? Are you missing out on thousands of potential visitors by not taking advantage of high traffic/low competition keywords? Keyword research really is the cornerstone of online marketing. Knowing EXACTLY what your demographic is searching for, and making your site very relevant to these search phrases can dramatically increase your online market share.

2. User Experience

Is your site attractive? Is it easy to find what you are looking for? Is the information presented on your website fresh, user-friendly and engaging? Does your website look and function well whether viewed on a computer, smartphone, tablet or another device? Do visitors have a reason to come back again and again and share your content on social media? Is there a clear call to action that turns browsers into buyers?

Statistics show that your website has just 20 seconds to grab the attention of the average visitor. Your home page must be extremely well-crafted to engage potential customers quickly, inviting them to hang around, read through your pages, and, most importantly, take advantage of what you are offering. A great user experience leads to sales, repeat visits, shares and referrals. There should be content that will attract your target demographic, and new content added on a regular basis. Make sure your site shines for your visitors, and you’ll be rewarded with plenty more sales and a higher search engine ranking as a result of the digital footprints that happy visitors leave behind.

3. Technical Stuff

Your website must load quickly in order to be competitive.

This means getting rid of any non-essential image elements, caching, ensuring that your site is hosted on a reliable server with lightning-fast response times, and beefing up security to make sure your site is not being abused by hackers. While this may seem like a daunting task, once done you will see amazing results.

Infographic: Courtesy of MarketingProfs.com

4. Social Media Marketing

If you thought that Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms were just for fun, think again. Social media marketing is a primary form of customer engagement because it works! Gaining a strong following on social media is like having a large room filled with an ever increasing “captive audience”. It defines consumer marketing for the 21st Century, and if used to its full potential, it can drive sales and help make your business a local household name.

5. Act Naturally

Google is becoming better and better at finding diamonds amid a sea of rhinestones. Turn your site into a diamond by continually polishing it, and you will rise above the competition (and stay there). Google rewards sites that behave in a “natural way”. If your site is great, people will naturally want to tell others, link to you, and generally spread the word online – without being asked to do so. Having an awesome website is a “set it and forget it” (almost) way of taking care of SEO.

SEO relies on common sense. Invest in making your website the very best it can be. Research your keywords so that you know exactly what search terms potential clients and customers are typing in when performing a search and make sure your excellent content answers their needs. Strive for technical excellence. Cheaper is never better when it comes to website development and hosting. And most importantly, do not do anything “unnatural” with your online marketing. Those folks who email you with offers to “put your website on the first page of Google in just 3 days” are not legitimate. They will take your money and do you harm.

SUMMARY

Your website is an investment. Protect your investment by putting a solid effort into making it great, and you will be rewarded with a high search engine position for a wide variety of search terms – and a constant stream of new customers now and well into the future.

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